Welcome once more to a retelling of my days activities! Today was a particularly interesting day and I realised halfway through that it would be excellent material for a post so here we are! Let’s get started…

Interpolation

Yesterday I had some lab time. In this lab we’re studying the spectra released by rocks after they are impacted by lasers in a process known as Raman spectroscopy. We only managed to measure one rock yesterday but I managed to send the data to myself before the end so that I could take a proper look today.

The rock we looked at is known as Pyroxenite, it’s a collection of many molecules that each have a Pyroxene group (usually Silicon Sexoxide). First we put the rocks under a microscope to get a really good look at the different crystals on the surface, I put the close up of Pyroxenite next to it.

Anyway, I have the data, so this morning I worked to smooth out the curves and try get some telltale peaks showing. It took a couple hours of writing python code and really trying to refine the curves down to eventually produce the graph below.

The key peak to look at here is the one just after the 600 line, about 680. That’s the Silicon group! So this rock is definitely Pyroxene and our method definitely worked, don’t you just love science!

Once I was finished with that it was time to head to my lecture.

Meteorites

Today’s lecture was all about meteorites and asteroids, especially the ones that we’ve been able to collect and study. I reckon this is a good time to teach a bit of nomenclature about meteorites actually! So…

A Meteoroid is a rock that floats around through space, a Meteorite is the remnants after it crashes to Earth, and a plain Meteor is the bright flash of light you see when it passes through the upper atmosphere. Now you know!

The lecture was very interesting and talked all about the different missions that have gone up to bring back samples of Meteoroids.

About halfway through the lecture though, I got an email…

A Package

Dear Miss Cassie,

A very large box has arrived for you. It is really really big please can you come get it.

Love from,

the Reception desk

Okay so maybe the email didn’t say exactly that but that was pretty much the jist of it. I have a parcel to collect, and I think I know what it is.

I have to put emphasis on how big this thing was though, I felt very awkward trying to carry it back to my room once I picked it up.

I got out my trusty swiss army knife, and cut the tape surrounding the edges. Throwing open the cardboard shutters, by eyes befell the most beautiful sight…

…It’s my new longboard!

Sk8r Girl

So last week it was my birthday, and I decided to use my birthday money to get myself something I have always wanted, a longboard! For those who don’t know a longboard is like a skateboard, but long. I think they’re much easier to ride than skateboards, especially as I never want to do tricks anyway I just like riding around.

So, I headed to a nearby paved area and got boarding!

I’m not very good I’ll admit, but I can ride around pretty good and even make some pretty narrow turns. The point for me is to do something I enjoy and I just love the feeling of moving fast on the wheels!

The weather outside is absolutely beautiful today, it has been for the past few days actually. It feels so nice to be able to get out after the cold winter we had, hopefully there’s a lot more skateboarding in my future!

Coursework

Now I needed to do some actual work. I have about seven different pieces of coursework due over the next few weeks so the quicker I can get through them the more I can relax.

The main one I have right now is a sort of 3D modelling type thing. I have to create a model of a satellite and then test it in a few radiation environments to see how impervious it is. I managed to get the geometry of the satellite done recently and I think it looks pretty good (well for a cuboidal satellite).

A lot of coding goes into this project, I literally have to define every single thing you can see in the image down to the millimetre.

I spent a few hours in the computer room working on my radiation environments, it’s really important that I get everything to interact properly so that I get the results I need. Unfortunately I tend to get really distracted by how beautiful the computer room itself actually is, it’s in this gorgeous old building with classic windows and latches. I spend half my time in there looking at the woodwork.

Once I felt confident everything was going to run properly, I set it going. The code will take about 8 hours to run by my calculations so if I leave it overnight my results should be ready for me in the morning. For me though, it’s on to the next event.

Formaggio!

My university likes to run a lot of events to make sure people leave their rooms every now and then. Tonight they’re doing a cheese and wine night so whilst I might not be much of a drinker, I can’t say no to some good cheese!

They had a lot of different options at the event, from cheddar to wensleydale, brie to red Leicester, I was in cheese heaven. They even gave me some cute gluten free crackers to enjoy with the cheese which was very nice of them!

I ran into some friends at the event too and once we’d finished eating we played a few rounds of pool. I was not very good, but I think I’d be more impressed if I was.

Still though, one game out of two isn’t too shabby!

Winding down

Today’s events, whilst a lot of fun, have been pretty tiring. I hope you’ve enjoyed the journey today it’s been quite the mix of things.

Right now I’m copied up in my bed with a good cup of herbal tea, just about ready to go to sleep and take on tomorrow!

Guess I’ll see you there?

Cassie